cover image Monsters Never Get Haircuts

Monsters Never Get Haircuts

Marie-Hélène Versini, illus. by Vincent Boudgourd. Boxer, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-914912-73-3

Monsters—they’re not just like us! Adding to the titular pronouncement, Versini supplies a quirky catalog of human behaviors, asserting much that monsters don’t do. They don’t visit the dentist, wear nail polish, sport glasses, swim, or play football, and they definitely “don’t drink strawberry milk,” Versini writes in straightforward phrases. Doodle-style pencil-and-paint-textured illustrations from Boudgourd portray variously shaped monsters attempting or avoiding assorted human pursuits: a toothy Loch Ness–type wears a too-small flowered inflatable inner tube, and a brown many-toed monster stands next to a pair of red heels unlikely to fit. By book’s end, the creators offer a reality-based reassurance for monster-wary young readers. Ages 3–6. (Sept.)